<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>you just took me by surprise (and i can't believe my eyes) by expectopatronuz</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26456029">you just took me by surprise (and i can't believe my eyes)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/expectopatronuz/pseuds/expectopatronuz'>expectopatronuz</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>5 Seconds of Summer (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Fluff, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:08:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,554</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26456029</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/expectopatronuz/pseuds/expectopatronuz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Luke stands staring for a moment, holding the book out between them. He wants to say something more. He wants to keep talking to Ashton, but Ashton is at work and so this interaction has an expiry, and this is it.</em>
</p>
<p>or, a bookstore au</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Luke Hemmings/Ashton Irwin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>62</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>you just took me by surprise (and i can't believe my eyes)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/yellingatbabylon/gifts">yellingatbabylon</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>happy birthday to my wonderful, talented, amazing friend <a href="https://tirednotflirting.tumblr.com/">sam</a>!!! we spent a solid few months loving each other's content without actually having a conversation, until we realized that we have the same taste in books, so a bookstore au in honour of her birthday felt fitting! she is absolutely wonderful and i am grateful every day that i know her! i'm sure if you're here, you've already read her wonderful fic, but if you haven't yet, please go check it out! she writes the most beautifully vivid and descriptive fic, i get lost in anything she writes every single time and i am constantly in awe! sam, you deserve the world, and i hope that you have a wonderful day!</p>
<p>title is from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJc-qBKCtFI">seeing blind</a>! come talk to me on <a href="https://calumsclifford.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a>! thank you all for reading and for being so wonderful and supportive!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Luke really loves independent bookstores.</p>
<p>He does, really. He loves to browse shelves and to pull out books based on the aesthetics of the spine alone. He loves to find something old and interesting that he’d never have heard of online. He loves the atmosphere. He loves how every time he’s in one, he feels like he might be at the start of his own coming-of-age story, even though he’s in his early twenties.</p>
<p>He loves to support local businesses. He loves knowing that he’s not feeding into a horrible capitalist machine every time he drops 25$ on a hardcover. He loves feeling good about his purchases, even when he should not be making them for his own financial stability.</p>
<p>The only thing is that sometimes, the local independent bookstores don’t stock new releases right away. Normally, Luke just waits until they do, but Rainbow Rowell’s sequel to <em>Carry On</em> has just come out, and Simon and Baz hold a special place in Luke’s heart, and this is a book that he needs to read <em>now</em>.</p>
<p>All this to say, walking into the nearest Angus &amp; Robertson is a little soul crushing, and Luke wants to be in and out as fast as possible.</p>
<p>Over his life, Luke has been into many, many Angus &amp; Robertson’s, so he knows that the one down the road from his house is not the standard, and that the warm, intimate vibe isn’t as manufactured as he always feels that it is. He begrudgingly respects the design of the place, with its autumnal colour scheme, wood accents, and inviting carpet.</p>
<p>Still, he morally objects to the idea of big companies monopolizing the market, so he keeps his head down and walks purposefully for what he remembers to be the YA section. He lifts his eyes when he reaches the shelves, only to find that it’s moved since the last time he was here. Now, it’s the self-help section.</p>
<p>Luke looks dejectedly at the shelves, sighing as if they’ve personally offended him.</p>
<p>“Can I help you?”</p>
<p>A body in all black with a nametag appears in Luke’s peripheral vision. He turns, planning to politely wave the employee off, but his words crumble into a breath when he sees the guy head on.</p>
<p>“What?” Luke says, like an idiot.</p>
<p>“Can I help you?” the guy repeats with a smile. Luke looks down to the nametag – Ashton. The only person that’s ever taken Luke’s breath away is named Ashton.</p>
<p>“Uh—” Luke says. He looks desperately back at the self-help books. “I don’t need help, I’m not like, a mess. I mean – I am a mess, but only in the normal way, you know? I don’t need a self-help book.”</p>
<p>“Okay,” Ashton says, poorly disguising an amused laugh. “No judgement either way, but I meant to ask if you needed help finding anything. As in, I work here, and you seem lost.”</p>
<p>“Oh,” Luke says weakly. “Right.”</p>
<p>Ashton stares at him for a moment. “So? Do you?”</p>
<p>“Oh,” Luke repeats. He looks at Ashton for a moment, but figures that he’d made too much of a fool of himself to recover. “Can you point me to the YA section?” Luke says, trying his best not to sound too dejected.</p>
<p>“I’ll do you one better,” Ashton says. “I’ll walk you over there.” Ashton starts to step away and waves a hand, inviting Luke to follow, so Luke does. “Are you looking for a particular book? Or are you just exploring?”</p>
<p>“Uh, a particular book. It just came out today.”</p>
<p>“What’s it called?”</p>
<p>“<em>Wayward Son</em>?”</p>
<p>“Oh!” Ashton says. “That one’s up front!” He changes course abruptly, turning down an aisle of non-fiction books to cut back to the new releases section. “You liked <em>Carry On</em>?”</p>
<p>“I loved <em>Carry On</em>,” Luke says. “I know it’s kind of cheesy, but—”</p>
<p>“Hey,” Ashton interrupts kindly. “Don’t ever apologize for liking something. If you enjoyed it, you enjoyed it. No need to defend yourself.” They reach the bestsellers shelf and Ashton pulls down a copy of <em>Wayward Son</em>. “But for what it’s worth, I loved <em>Carry On</em> too.”</p>
<p>“Really?”</p>
<p>“Really,” Ashton says. He reaches his hand out, offering the book to Luke. Luke takes it, and this fingers brush for a seconds before Ashton lets go.</p>
<p>Luke stands staring for a moment, holding the book out between them. He wants to say something more. He wants to keep talking to Ashton, but Ashton is at work and so this interaction has an expiry, and this is it.</p>
<p>Luke clears his throat and pulls his arm in, clutching the book to his chest. “Thank you for the help.”</p>
<p>“No problem,” Ashton says. “Do you need help finding the checkout?”</p>
<p>“I’m okay,” Luke says, nodding over in its direction.</p>
<p>“Well,” Ashton says. “Enjoy the book.”</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Luke says. They smile at each other for a second that stretches just a little too long, and then Ashton is disappearing back into the shelves.</p>
<p>It takes Luke a moment to catch his breath before he can move.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Luke cannot believe that he’s back at Angus &amp; Robertson’s already. He had gone nearly three years buying only from independent bookshops, and this guy has him back at the big chain store within the week.</p>
<p>He doesn’t even know if Ashton’s working, but he’s spent a full six days waxing lyrical about his storybook meet-cute to his best friends, Michael and Calum, and by now, even he’s getting sick of himself. So, he’s here, prepared with a book that’s been on his to-read list for a while.</p>
<p>He walks into the store and glances across, but Ashton isn’t at the checkout or in any of the visible sections. Luke nods to himself and pretends that he isn’t disappointed, and goes off in search of the fantasy section.</p>
<p>He finds it halfway through his lap of the store and spends far too long staring at the shelves, only to admit that his book is not there. He sighs and pulls out his phone to double-check the website. <em>The Immortalists </em>was in stock before he left his house ten minutes ago.</p>
<p>“Can I help you?”</p>
<p>Luke whips his head around. It’s Ashton. “You’re here!”</p>
<p>Ashton laughs, and Luke wants to glue his mouth shut. “I work here.”</p>
<p>“Right,” Luke laughs uncertainly. “That’s the joke.”</p>
<p>“How did you like <em>Wayward Son</em>?” Ashton asks abruptly.</p>
<p>“I liked it a lot,” Luke says without thinking.</p>
<p>“Me too,” Ashton says.</p>
<p>“It kind of hurt to read, though,” Luke says. “I wasn’t expecting it to be so – so—”</p>
<p>“Human?” Ashton asks.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Luke says.</p>
<p>“I know what you’re talking about. I think that’s why I loved it so much, but I can see how it might be jarring.”</p>
<p>“I still loved it,” Luke says quickly.</p>
<p>“It’s just different,” Ashton smiles.</p>
<p>“Maybe good different. I’ll have to read it again, sometime.”</p>
<p>Ashton nods. “Rainbow Rowell’s books are always best on a reread, I find.”</p>
<p>“That’s true,” Luke says. “I love Fangirl more and more every time I read it.”</p>
<p>“I never get tired of that one,” Ashton says. He glances quickly over the shelf in front of Luke, and then to Luke’s phone, still in his hand. “Are you looking for something?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, <em>the Immortalists</em>? It says online that it’s in stock, but I can’t find it.”</p>
<p>“I know it seems like it would be in fantasy, but it’s actually in the fiction section,” Ashton says.</p>
<p>“Oh.” Luke feels like an idiot, once again.</p>
<p>“It’s this way,” Ashton says, and walks off. Luke trails just behind him.</p>
<p>“It’s a good book,” Ashton says, facing ahead.</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>“<em>The Immortalists</em>? I read it this summer. It has a few lulls, but the characters are really well explored.”</p>
<p>Ashton stops in front of a shelf and pulls down a copy for Luke. This time, when he hands it over, his fingers linger for a second longer.</p>
<p>“So you read a lot?” Luke asks, when Ashton has pulled his hand away.</p>
<p>“Not as much in the past few years, but I’m trying to get back into it.” Ashton looks away and arranges some books on the shelf, pushing them around so that there are no gaps. “Do you?”</p>
<p>“I guess so,” Luke says. “Not usually like, hard books, you know? I like fun books. Love stories, or magic stories, or friendship stories. I don’t like long, sad things.”</p>
<p>“So I shouldn’t recommend <em>the Goldfinch</em>?”</p>
<p>“Probably not,” Luke laughs.</p>
<p>“It’s not as good as everyone says it is, don’t worry.”</p>
<p>“I trust your judgement,” Luke says. Ashton grins.</p>
<p>“Well, if you ever want recommendations, let me know.”</p>
<p>This is the part where Luke should probably ask for recommendations. He should flirt, he should keep the conversation going on as long as he can. Despite once again acting like an idiot, he feels like this has gone alright.</p>
<p>Instead, he worries that Ashton is only being nice because it’s his job, and so he says, “I’ll keep that in mind.”</p>
<p>Ashton smiles and nods. “I should get back to work, then.”</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Luke says, hold up the book. “For helping again. I promise I’ll figure this place out soon.”</p>
<p>“Please don’t,” Ashton says with a grin, then turns and walks over to an older couple, offering them help.</p>
<p>Luke stares after him for a second, then frantically opens his group chat with Calum and Michael to ask what that possibly could have meant.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What are we doing?” Luke asks.</p>
<p>They’re supposed to be grabbing a quick lunch before heading back to Luke’s apartment to play games, but Michael’s pulling into the Angus &amp; Robertson parking lot and parking.</p>
<p>“Nothing,” Michael says. “I need to pick up a book.”</p>
<p>“You don’t read,” Luke says. Michael twists the key and steps out of the car in a flurry of movement, and Luke stumbles to follow.</p>
<p>“I read!” Michael says. “Sometimes.”</p>
<p>“You do not! I tried to get you to read the<em> Shadowhunter</em> books for <em>years</em>!”</p>
<p>“There are too many of them,” Michael says absently, a habit in the argument they’ve had a hundred times.</p>
<p>“But you’d like them, and then you’d be happy there are so many!”</p>
<p>“Give it up,” Michael says. He walks into the store and looks around expectantly.</p>
<p>“You’re not picking up a book,” Luke huffs. “You’re just trying to embarrass me.”</p>
<p>“I’m not,” Michael says. “But this Ashton guy—”</p>
<p>“Shh,” Luke hisses. Michael ignores him.</p>
<p>“He’s clearly into you, and you’re not going to do anything about it. You just need a bit of a nudge.”</p>
<p>“I don’t,” Luke says. “Please, do not say anything.”</p>
<p>“Stop worrying so much,” Michael says. He wanders through the store, glancing at shelves here and there, as if he’s actually shopping. Luke follows behind, sullen.</p>
<p>“Is that him?” Michael whispers as an employee with curly hair walks past.</p>
<p>“No,” Luke says.</p>
<p>Michael grumbles something indistinct and makes another loop around the store. Luke’s feeling better about the situation until they pass the poetry section and Luke spots Ashton, coming towards them, smiling.</p>
<p>Luke stumbles into Michael, who steps aside easily, sending Luke tumbling to the ground.</p>
<p>“Are you okay?” Ashton asks, rushing forward.</p>
<p>“I’m fine,” Luke says quickly. He turns to glare at Michael, but he’s walking towards the music section.</p>
<p>“Let me help you,” Ashton says. He takes Luke’s hand without further warning, and lightning bolt tingles shoot up Luke’s fingers and arm, right to his chest.</p>
<p>“Thanks,” he says, breathless.</p>
<p>“Were you with someone?” Ashton asks. He looks over to the music section, where Michael is focusing way too hard on an ABBA biography.</p>
<p>“Uh – I guess not.”</p>
<p>“Well,” Ashton smiles. “In that case, what are you looking for today?”</p>
<p>Luke’s not prepared for this. He doesn’t have a book in mind, he hasn’t even finished <em>the Immortalists</em> yet. “Uh – I don’t – nothing specific,” he says. Ashton nods encouragingly. “Something – something light? Something fun. I read <em>Anna and the French Kiss</em> awhile ago, something like that, maybe?”</p>
<p>“That’s a good one,” Ashton says. “I can work with that. Come on.” They set off for the YA section, but Ashton waits until Luke falls into step next to him. “Have you already read the <em>To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before</em> books?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Luke says. “I love those. I read all three in like, a weekend.”</p>
<p>“Alright, what about <em>the Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight</em>?”</p>
<p>“No, I haven’t read that one.”</p>
<p>They get to the YA section and Ashton finds the right shelf quickly. He pulls down a book with a pretty red spine and Luke takes it, but their fingers don’t brush, this time.</p>
<p>“I think you’ll like it,” Ashton says, stares at Luke for a long second, then looks down at the book. “Read the back, see what you think.”</p>
<p>Luke nods and looks down at the book, but the words aren’t registering in his brain, not with Ashton standing there, watching him. He tries a few times, then smiles up weakly. “It looks perfect,” he says.</p>
<p>“I can tell you didn’t really read the back, but I really do think you’ll like this one.”</p>
<p>“I trust you,” Luke says.</p>
<p>“Well, I have a great taste in books,” Ashton says.</p>
<p>“You do,” Luke says. “Based on what you’ve said.”</p>
<p>Ashton smiles, and Luke figures that this is the end of the conversation, so he nods. “I guess I’ll go check out,” Luke says. “Thank you, again.”</p>
<p>Luke turns to walk to the checkout, where he’ll buy the book and go wait for Michael outside in shame. He gets maybe four steps away before Ashton makes a sharp squeak noise behind him.</p>
<p>“Wait,” Ashton says.</p>
<p>Luke turns around. “Yeah?”</p>
<p>“I was – I did that bad.”</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>“I was going to—” Ashton sighs. “Give me that book back.”</p>
<p>“Why?” Luke asks.</p>
<p>“Just give it back.”</p>
<p>Luke steps closer to Ashton to give the book back, and Ashton grins. “Okay, ask me for a recommendation,” Ashton says.</p>
<p>Luke laughs. “Alright, can you give me a recommendation?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Ashton says. “I’m glad you asked. I think you might like this one.” Ashton hands the book over. “Now read the title.”</p>
<p>“<em>The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight</em>,” Luke reads.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Ashton says. “I thought you might like it, because I always thought the probability was against me, until I met you.”</p>
<p>Luke is speechless for a moment, trying to process. “That’s not a very good wordplay.”</p>
<p>“It was better when I rehearsed it in my head,” Ashton admits.</p>
<p>“Well, do you want to give it a third try, or…?”</p>
<p>Ashton laughs. “How about this, instead; what are you doing tomorrow night?”</p>
<p>“I don’t have any plans,” Luke says.</p>
<p>“I’d like to take you on a date, if you’d like that too?”</p>
<p>“I’d like that,” Luke smiles. “I’d really like that.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They exchange numbers, and by the time Luke has bought his book, Michael’s made his way back to the car.</p>
<p>“For fuck’s sake, you took that long to buy one book?”</p>
<p>Luke grins wide and opens the book to the inside cover to show Michael the phone number scribbled in, with a note under it: <strong><em>looking forward to tomorrow night, Ashton x</em></strong>.</p>
<p>“Really?” Michael asks, and Luke nods. “Yeah, Luke! Get it!”</p>
<p>Luke accepts Michael’s high five and smiles down at the note in the book the whole way home.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>